The trial of a British-born Islamic militant and three alleged accomplices for the kidnap and murder of a US journalist will take place in jail, Pakistani judges ruled today.

Two high court judges in Karachi dismissed an appeal by Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and the co-defendants, for their trial over the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl to be held in open court. The trial is expected to begin tomorrow.

Pakistani officials cited security concerns in their decision to hold the trial in Karachi's Central Jail.

Pearl disappeared on January 23 while en route to a meeting with Islamic militant contacts in Karachi. His body has not been found, but a video-tape confirmed the 38-year-old journalist was dead.

* Saeed has been linked to the gang that abducted Middlesbrough man Keith Mangan in Kashmir in 1995. His abduction was an attempt by Islamic militants to get Saeed and 21 other terror suspects freed from Indian prisons.